I’ve been reading Technicolor Ultra Mall, the debut novel by longtime blog friend Ryan Oakley of The Grumpy Owl. I’m a great fan of Ryan’s blog, but this is the first time I’ve read his fiction. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it – especially as I’m not that into ultra-violence – yet the further I got into it the more I loved it. In between senseless gut-spills, Oakley lands some genuine emotional punches. Most satisfying for me as a reader, it also extrapolates modern media patterns and subcultures – made more textural by cogent awareness of the significance of fashion.

A rude boy is the protagonist, and his love interest is a rude girl. In the mall, gangs function like violent bureaucracies, so I dressed them identically, inspired by classic two-tone gear and police uniforms.